It's not for me to say...MARION part1

Marion Keene was a well known singer in the 50s on stage and screen. A local lass, at the age of 14 she sang at the Rink Ballroom in Hartlepool and was very quickly singing nationally with Oscar Rabin, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bob Hope and Buddy Holly and exuding an effortless air of glamour. In fact she made her own dresses and recalls fondly getting paid in SPAM sandwiches when she was starting out during very hard times.

I established a rapport with her during my video project "Send Three and Fourpence..." based around the now demolished Queen's Rink, however I never met her face to face. It seemed to me that somehow our relationship was cemented by its 'virtual' nature, so I decided to have this doll made of her.

Many people still recall Marion with affection in Hartlepool. She now lives on her own on the south coast, sings along with the radio, and is addicted to cornetto ice-creams.